New graphics for the 2019 Padres baseball season are now being applied around Petco Park.

Everyone is hustling to get ready for the 2019 Padres baseball season. Opening Day is a week from tomorrow!

I’ve noticed all sorts of preparations now underway at Petco Park, and at businesses on surrounding streets. Petco Park has been getting a new paint job and new player graphics are being applied to the rear of the two big videoboards. One major theme this year is the recent signing of superstar Manny Machado.

Will 2019 be the season the Padres turn the corner and become a winning team?

Fingers crossed!

The first street lamp banners to go up promote the free, family friendly Opening Day Block Party. The annual event will take place Thursday and Friday next week in East Village.A new Manny Machado shirt is now on display in a window of the Padres Team Store.We Who Reign graphic on a vendor cart inside the Park at the Park.Progress is being made erecting the new permanent concert stage in the Park at the Park.A worker was welding when I walked past.Various restaurants and bars in East Village and the Gaslamp Quarter are putting up Padres banners and posters.GO PADRESManny Machado has appeared in a window between Will Ferrell and Eric Hosmer!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

I walked through the Park at the Park today and saw workers erecting the large stage behind the wall-like batter’s eye, where temporary stages have been set up for special events in past years.

A couple mornings ago I walked around Petco Park looking for new banners, graphics and cool stuff in anticipation of the 2019 Padres baseball season. I spoke to a Padres employee who was doing some maintenance, and he indicated that the new stage will be operated by Live Nation, and will be used as a venue for concerts and other fun events throughout the year!

Great idea!

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In 2018 there was a cool new addition to Petco Park, baseball home of the San Diego Padres. Walk past Section 114 and you can’t miss it!

Displayed on the wall of what is now called the “San Diego Section” are plastic versions of high school baseball caps. Every high school in San Diego County with a baseball or softball team that competes in the CIF San Diego Section is represented!

To honor the achievements of local teams and their individual players, two interactive screens in the San Diego Section allow fans to search by high school. Basic information is displayed for each school, such as team logo, colors and mascot. The years the school won a California Interscholastic Federation Championship are also shown, as are the names of students who’ve have gone on to compete in Major League Baseball!

How cool is that?

I checked out Petco Park’s inspiring San Diego Section today during the 2019 Padres FanFest and took photos!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Statue of Hall of Fame relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

“There is no shortcut to true success.” Those are the words of Trevor Hoffman, 2018 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of baseball.

The wise quote adorns the base of his bronze statue, which was unveiled this summer at Petco Park.

Great achievements require hard work and persistence. Achievements that endure the test of time must be built game by game, inning by inning, pitch by pitch.

The San Diego Padres have honored two of their Hall of Fame players with magnificent statues at Petco Park. Both Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman are now immortalized in bronze. Both sculptures were created by artist William Behrends, who has been referred to as the Sculptor of Sporting History.

Neither Trevor Hoffman nor Tony Gwynn chose the easy path. Both worked constantly, studied the game, and never stopped honing their skills.

“There is no shortcut to true success.” To those who have high aspirations, important words to remember.

A sculpture of Trevor Hoffman overlooks the Padres bullpen, just beyond left field at Petco Park.There is no shortcut to true success. Trevor Hoffman.The high leg kick of Hall of Fame relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman immortalized in bronze.Two legends of baseball now intersect at Tony Gwynn Drive and Trevor Hoffman Way, just outside Petco Park.The bronze sculpture of legendary pitcher Trevor Hoffman, by artist William Behrends.

A fascinating scale model of the Lane Field stadium, home of the Pacific Coast League Padres from 1936 to 1957, is now located inside the front lobby of the San Diego Padres business office. The model was built by baseball historian Bill Swank, author of several books, including Echoes from Lane Field : A History of the San Diego Padres 1936-1957.

Fans of the early Padres used to head to Lane Field to see their favorite team in action. Many fond baseball memories were made in downtown San Diego near the waterfront, at the end of West Broadway between Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway. Today the area is occupied by two hotel buildings and Lane Field Park, which features a small baseball diamond, plaques that honor an era of local baseball history, and three colorful banners that celebrate former players at Lane Field, including legendary hitter Ted Williams.

Bill Swank created the detailed model of long-vanished Lane Field to preserve a bit of San Diego history for the enjoyment of Padres fans. The model is in 1:128 scale and made out of basswood. Care was taken during its construction to maintain a high degree of accuracy.

According to Bill Swank, the model is “so accurate to scale that it’s even 87’ from home to first base. It wasn’t until the 1950s that a groundskeeper measured the distance and discovered it was only 87 feet… and had been 87 feet since 1936! I believe the mistake was made by taking the measurement off the hastily drawn blueprint.”

Bill Swank has provided the following additional information concerning his model:

January 1997: Because I had blueprints for Lane Field, San Diego Hall of Champions Historian Don King asked if I would like to participate in building a scale model of the original home of the San Diego Padres to be displayed at the Hall of Champions.

May 1997: It took me longer to finish the model than it took the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to build the actual ballpark. Bill Lane signed an agreement to relocate his Pacific Coast League Hollywood Stars to San Diego on January 28, 1936. A ballpark had to be built at the northwest corner of Broadway and Pacific Highway in less than two months, because the renamed “Padres” first game was scheduled for March 31, 1936. The cost of construction was approximately $25,000. (San Diego beat the Seattle Indians, 6-2, on Opening Day.)

July 1997: My Lane Field model was unveiled at the San Diego Hall of Champions on the Prado.

September 2000: The model was transported to the remodeled Federal Building after the Hall of Champions moved from the Prado.

April 2017: When the Hall of Champions closed in 2017, a new home was found for the model at Petco Park.

February 2018: The Lane Field model went on display in the front lobby of the Padres business office.

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I have enjoyed an up-close and personal look at this very cool model. Here are several historical photographs of Lane Field, followed by a few photos of the model beneath glass that my camera captured.

With a little imagination one can almost see fans in the stands, players on the field, and hear the crack of a batted home run…

Lane Field (1936) before the grandstand roof was added. Photo from the Bill Swank collection.Panoramic view of Lane Field includes long ticket line for 1954 PCL Championship game with the Hollywood Stars (Padres won, 7-2). Photo by Ray Hacecky, Sr.Opening Day, March 30, 1940. Southpaw Wally “Preacher” Hebert took the mound and beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-1. Photo from the Hebert Family.A new attendance record (13,466) was set on May 2, 1948 for a game with the San Francisco Seals. During the game, fans stood and sat in the outfield against the fence. A ball that went into the crowd was a ground rule double. Photo from the Bill Swank collection.Scale model of Lane Field stadium, displayed in lobby of the Padres business office.

This model was built to honor the men who played baseball at Lane Field and the fans who loved them.

Memories from San Diego’s baseball past live on at Petco Park.

Many thanks to the San Diego Padres, the super friendly Petco Park Navigators and Bill Swank who made this fun post possible!

Go Pads!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Padres fans enter Petco Park before a home game against the Diamondbacks to watch the induction of Trevor Hoffman into the baseball Hall of Fame live on the big videoboard.

Trevor Hoffman was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame today. I headed down to Petco Park before the early afternoon game to watch the induction ceremony in Cooperstown live on the big Petco Park videoboard.

As game time approached, more and more fans filled the seats. All eyes were watching the live ceremony. Then Trevor took to the podium to accept the highest honor in all of baseball.

It was Trevor Time once again!

Trevor spoke many moving words during his speech. He remembered and thanked his family and his past teammates. He honored members of the Padres family who have passed into history, including Tony Gwynn and Jerry Coleman. He thanked the military, an important part of our city, and reminded all that freedom is not free. He closed by telling his sons that character is more important than reputation.

Thank you Trevor, not only for being a Padres baseball hero, but for being a hero for all of San Diego.

Another beautiful, sunny day in San Diego at Petco Park. Today is particularly special.San Diego Padres legendary closer Trevor Hoffman is inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame on July 29, 2018.Six great MLB players form the Class of 2018 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.Cooperstown, New York is home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.Trevor Hoffman, who spent his record-breaking career as closing pitcher for the San Diego Padres, is part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018.As Hoffman is introduced during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, video is shown of Padres fans holding a banner proclaiming Trevor Time.The MLB Network live feed on the Petco Park videoboard shows Trevor Hoffman shortly before he gives his speech at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.The determined eyes of the Major League Baseball pitcher who was first to achieve 500 and 600 saves.Footage shows Trevor during a game with his Padres teammates on the field.Trevor doffs his cap to his San Diego fans as he achieves a baseball pitching milestone.The face of Trevor William Hoffman immortalized in bronze at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.Trevor Hoffman, master of a mystifying change-up, became the first pitcher to reach the 500 and 600 save milestones.Trevor Hoffman poses during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, with other legendary baseball players all around him.It’s Trevor Time one more time at Petco Park!Thanks for the memories Hoffy.Trevor begins his acceptance speech. He thanks his dad and mom.He addresses his brothers, who are watching the ceremony at Cooperstown.Padres fans enter Petco Park as an historic event occurs on the other side of the country.Trevor Hoffman thanks his old manager Bruce Bochy, and his past teammates. Those teams had great chemistry–a special bond.Trevor thanks his wife.Fans applaud Trevor.Another day, another game of wonderful baseball. Young and old now fill the Park at the Park beyond the outfield.Trevor is honored on the video board in the Park at the Park.Meanwhile, kids who might not know who Trevor is simply love playing baseball.My soda cup with Trevor Hoffman’s impressive baseball achievements.The game will soon start. Trevor’s induction speech is repeated on video screens throughout Petco Park.I saw many Hoffman jerseys.Trevor Time has returned to Petco Park on a summer’s day in 2018.Fans were posing by some new Trevor Hoffman Hall of Fame graphics on a wall along the Petco Park concourse.Trevor graphics ascend the side of an escalator.Hoffman jerseys were a hot item today.Trevor Hoffman’s plaque in the Breitbard Hall of Fame. A sports legend who made San Diego his home, among many other world-class athletes.Historic photos of Trevor Hoffman in the Padres Hall of Fame at Petco Park. When he achieved his 479th save, he surpassed Lee Smith as Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader.A boy looks up at a Trevor Hoffman jersey in the Padres Hall of Fame.The smile of Trevor Hoffman.The smile of a San Diego baseball hero.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!